Feeding device for automatic lathes



Feb. 25, 1930;

E. T. ROBERTS FEEDING DEVICE FOR AUTOMATIC'LATHES Filed April 10, 1924 7Sheets-Sheet w I actor-"up z m 4 w n 3 Feb. 25, 1930. E. T.- ROBERTSFEEDING DEVICE FOR AUTOMATIC LATHES 7f Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 10,1924 lllll lllllll WW "WI J m V HmWW n Feb. 25, 1930. ROBERTS 1,748,795

FEEDING DEVICE FOR AUTOMATIC LATHES Filed April 10., 1924 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 attmwaqa 12* daaw fog Feb. 25, 1930. E. T. ROBERTS FEEDINGDEVICE FOR AUTOMATIC LATHES '7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 10, 1924 wtl 'Feb. 25, 1930. E. T. ROBERTS FEEDING DEVICE FOR AUTOMATIC 'LATHES FiledApril 10. 1924 7 Sheets-Sheet l mn Feb. 25, 1930. E. T. ROBERTS1,748,795

FEEDING DEVICE FOR AUTOMATIC LATHES Filed April 10, 1924 'TSheets-Sheet6 gnbntoz 'Feb.25, 1930. I r 1-, ROBERT 1,74 ,795

FEEDING DEVICE FOR AUTOMATIC LATHES Filed April 10, 1924 7 Sheets-Sheet7 glwuewto'a Elias 2'7 130601 1 5.

Patented Feb. 25, 1930 IT l E iAs rrno Asi Romans, on ennnnwoon, MAINE,ASSIGNOR 'rov n. nmnnian'rs snooLi 00., F, LooKE MILLS, MAINE PATEOFFICE g FEEDING DEVICE FOR AUTOMATIC LATHES i Application filed April10,

@This invention relates to an improvement,

r in wood ladies to provide an antomaticreciprocation ofthe -headstockiand to provide 7 an automatic feeding device adapted to suci lathe.

cessively advance and position-in the lathe the stock to be turned. I Ii v. y The object of the present invention is to provideautomaticsdevices by means of which a less skilled workman may beemployed and '10 'Figr 2-is an end elevation ofjthe. headstock endof the"lathe. V 7 Fig; 8 is a fragmentary. front elevation partially sectionof the headstock of a V Figure 3A is a fragmentary detail of mechanism,illustrated at th'e l'owen right hand end of Figure3, but showsgtheseveralparts moved to a differentoperative position.

. Fig; 4 is a front elevation of the improved feeding mechanism, showingin dotted lines the relative positionof the same as applied toalathe.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation showing the im'- proved; feeding deviceapplied to alatheb v taken on the. lines7;7 of Fig, 6.

' view through [the feeding mechanism showin stock gripping members.

' I Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan View showing a-partof the headstockcontrol mechanlsm. F 1g. 7 is a transversecross sectional view Fig 8 isa detailtransverse.crossrsectional' g in more detail the=construction ofthe Figurev 9 is aplan of the/entire machine showing the relation of thefeeding means to the head stock. r

I In; accordance withf the: present invention removed, and the operationrepeated.

the headstock.

1924., Serial No. 705,678.'[

the lathe is provided with an automatically,-

reciprocating headstock which advances from the-end ofthe lathe toengage the stock to be turned and. havingengaged' the. same,- advancesit during the turning operation, At,

the completion of the turning operation and, after the finished turninghas' been' cut off, the headstock is, withdrawn tothe end, of

the lathe, thestub of the;stock-automatically An automatic, stockfeeding mechanism is 'furtheruprovided to advance and position; a; I

new piece of stock oneach reciprocation, of

I The structure and, operation of the-lathe may be briefly described inconnection with the accompanying drawings in which 1 indi cates thereciprocating; headstock generally,

which is controlled by a cable 2" wound upon drum 4 to draw itbackwardly'toward the. [1.

end of the, lathe and is further'fcontrolled by a chain 3. to draw itforwardly: toward the centerof the. latheato engage the stock apreliminary .to the turning operation. The r drum ie-is operated throughsuitable] gearing through a pulley 5 which is "controlledtby. a

clutch 6 operated by lever 7. .The up'per end I V of. lever 7 isconnected to a bar 8 extending longitudinally of the lathe and passingthrough a guide lug 10 secured to-headstock --1, bar Sbeing provided,with stop nuts l1:&11

on. either side of the lug 1Q, 'whichhstop U nuts form abutments forcompression springs 9. similarly. located and designed to' cushion, i

the contact. of said lug 10' against the nuts 1 1l1. -When lug 1Oadvances rod 8 to the I r1ght,clutch,6 throws pulley v5 out of. operas:

gearing with theidrum' 4 and permits the op:- eration of chain?) throughmechanism-later ftive engagement through its intermediate 96 describedto advance the headstock. When lug 10 advances rod 8 to the left, clutch6:

throws pulley 5, into operative engagement through its gearing with drum4. thus retract ing the headstock toftheend .ofthe"lathe.,

'7 Thechain3 is attachedat one end to the end of the lathe body as at 3and thence passes over'the top of the lathe and'thence downwardly and issecured to a weighted piston 12 op'erated in a cylinder 13' adapted toregulate and cushion its downward fall. The weighted piston 12 ispreferably formed with a cavity '16 adapted to receive liquid or otherWeighting material which may be supplied as through a passage 17normally closed by a stop screw 18. The cylinder13 is provided adjacentits top with a plurality of orifices 14 permitting the rapid escape ofair from the cylinder in the early stages of the pistons descent and isfurther pro vided adjacent its bottom with a valve 15 permitting therapid ingress of airand only a gradual egress of air, thus furthercontributing to the cushioning effect of the device.

The headstock 1 is operatively connected to chain 3 by means of a lug 20carried in a suitable housing 21, said lug 20 being formed as the end ofa rack member 22 operated by a pinion23, to the shaft of which isconnected alever 24 which is in turn connectedby a toggle 25 with alever 26 mounted on the headstock and having its oppositelegconnected bya suitable joint 27 with a' rod 28 extending longitudinally through thespindle 29 of the headstock. The spindle 29 is provided for this purposewith a longitudinal bore 28 which is enlarged as at 30 to accommodate 28normally projects into this threa'dedconical orifice 35 and when thusextended inwardly has retracted'lever 26 to operate rack 22 andthrowrsame downwardly so that lug 20 is in engagement with an upwardlyprojecting lug 19 provided upon one of the links of the chain 3. V

A lever 39 is pivotally mounted as at 38 upon headstock 1 extending atone end'into a downwardly projecting heel 40 and provided on its rearend with a roller 41-. An upwardly projecting stanchion 42 upon the endof the lathe proper as a forwardly directed cam face 43 adapted tocontact roller 41 upon the headstock 1 approaching the end of the latheto throw heel 40 downwardly to knock the stub of stock 37 from thework'engaging 1nember34.

By reason of the toggle 25 between levers 24 and 26 lugs 20 ismaintained in contact with lug 19 in two operative positions of lever26. That is to say when lever 26 has been moved in a counterclockwisedirection byadvancementof rod 28 through the spindle and into the workreceiving orifice with the toggle straight as illustrated in Fig. 1 oragain when rod-28 has been forced backwardly and the links of the toggle25 broken downwardly as illustrated in Figure 3A. In the latter orbroken position of toggle 25 it will be apparent that rack 22 and hencelug 20 are normally thrown downwardly by the toggle spring 25' but arefree to play within reasonable limits short of completely straighteningthe toggle. The operation of this structure may be described inconnection with the cycleconr. inencing with the retraction of theheadstock toward the end of the lathe after the cut-off of a completedturning, carrying the stub of a piece of stock 37 as illustrated in Fig.3, except that the lug 20 would be in position contacting lug 19, thetoggle 25 being broken downwardly as in Figure 3A. With the mechanism inthis position'roller 41contacts cam face 43 and the heel 40 of lever 39knocks the stock stub from the stock engaging member 34, thus permittingrod 28 to be advanced through the spindle 29 by means of spring 32rocking lever 26 in a counterclockwise direction to straighten toggle 25as illustrated in Figure 1 still maintaining lug'20 in engagement withlug 19. At the same time lug 10 has compressed spring 9 against the locknut 11 adjacent the end of the lathe throwing clutch 6 to disengagepulley 5 from drum 4 thus permitting the weight 12 operative throughchain 3 to reverse the motion of headstock 1 andcarry same forwardlytoward the center of the lathe. hen the headstock spindle 29 comes inengagement with the next piece of stock 37, the taperedend 36 of thestock is screwed into threaded orifice 35, thus forcing rod 28backwardly' through spindle 29, rocking lever 26 clockwise, whichoperating through the straightened link 25 raises rack 22 to relieve lug20 from lug 19, permitting'at this point in the operation of the machinethe continued advance of chain 3 independently of headstock 1, whichlatter part is at this point en'- 7 ga ged by other mechanism not shownand further advanced during the turning operation proper. The turningoperation forces the stock 37 still further into the threaded orifice35, thus forcing rod 28 still further backwardly untilthe toggle 25 isbroken downwardly by means of the set screw 25 mounted on the housing21. Upon the breaking of toggle 25 the toggle spring 25 operates tothrow rack downwardly so that as the headstock 1 passes lug 19, whichhas previously reached the limit of its stroke, lug 2O rises over lug 19and falls again by means of the spring pressure into locking engagementpreparatory to the next backward movement of the headstock duringwhichmovement by means of the said engagementwith lug 19 chain 3is.retracted, thus again elevating weight 12 in cylinder 13 preparatoryto a repeat operation. To properly time the return movement of headstock1 at the completion of the cut-off operation a cam 45 is mounted the arm53 projecting, however, in the path ing two angularly disposed arms 52and 53, the former adapted to be contacted by cam when thrown intoproper relation therewith. The arm 52 is, however, normally-heldbyspring-55 from under cam 45 :(see Fig. 6) with of a'finger 54' carriedbytheheadstock. As the turning operation nears lts completlonlug 10 onthe headstock compresses spring 9 against the stop nut 11 carried by rodStending to force rod 8 to the left and thus throw clutch 6tobringpulley 5 into operative en- 7 gagem'ent to rotate drum 4 andthroughcable which cam at the proper time rocks lever 51 '2 retract theheadstock.

Movement of the rod 8 is, however, prevented by lever 48 projecting inits path until fingei 54carried by the headstock engages arm 53 of lever51 and forces arm 52 of said lever under cam 45,

and 4821s a single unitupon pivot 46, thus swinging lever 48 outof thepath of rod 8,

permitting the rod to slide to the left, thus starting thepreviouslydescribed mechanism andretracting headstock 1'. I 1

In association with the lathe comprising generally themechanismthusrdescribedrl apply stockfeeding mechanism which compris-vesbroadly a plurality'of endless chains 108,

arranged in spaced relationupon sprockets 107 mountedupon shafts105-4106 carried by 0 suitable end frame members 101 which are body ofthe latheand'which are connected 'by suitable lateral rods and maybe-further adapted to be secured as by lugs 102 to the supporteddirectly =from'the floor as by a stanchion 104. The chains 108 areprovided with outwardly projecting spaced lugs 110 which constitutebacks against which pieces of stock 37 may contact. The upper stretchesof the chains 108, it will be observed, constitute a'substantiallyhorizontal moving table upon which-the pieces of stock may be readilyarranged by any unskilled workman (see engaglng member of the headstockengages The sprockets 107 are fixedly secured to their shaft 106 uponwhich is mounted a cam -or wiper wheel 128 adapted to be operated bypawl 127, carried by lever. 126 freely mounted upon the shaft 106. Theend frame memhere 101 extend upwardly above shafts and 106 to providepivot bearings 111 for a pair of spaced rods'112, one pair. on each endof thedevice, which project downwardly and are connected by pivot jointswith bridge members 113 "intermediate their ends and bridge members 124at their lower ends. On one side-of the device a bellcrank 1.14 is piv-'otally. connected by one arm to bridgemem her 113 intermediate'rods'112, said bell crank being pivoted on framelOl intermediate the[upper pivot supports .111 andhas its upper arm 114 connected by rod 115to. a bell'cr-ank 116, the other arm of whichis connected as by rod 117to a lever118which is in turn. secured to a shaft 119, extendingtransversely of the lathe body to the front of the machine where itsupports a leverl20, carryingupon its outer end a roller 121adapted toengage cam face 122 stock 1.

vBy reason of the structure thus described,

it will be apparentthat as the headstock 1 approaches the end of thelat-he (see. Fig.4) cam 122 will contact roller 121 andthrough thelevers, bell cranks and rods described will operate to swing rods 112successively forward and backward with relation to the endthat upon eachbackward swing of rods 112, chains 108 are advanced afixed distance. in

a clockwise direction while upon the forward 3 of a bracket 123. securedtoheadstroke 'of ro ds 112 pawl 12':- rides over the cam or wiper wheeland the chains remain stat1onary.

Betweenthe bridge members l24'connect- I ing the pairs of rods 112, oneat each end of "of the lathe are slidable upon rod 129 but Iv notrotatablethefeon. The gripping member nearest the tailstock end ofthelathe dis 7 neither slidable nor rotatable upon shaft 129.

The gripping members are separated upon shaft 129 by compression springs137 by which arrangement various sizes-of stock may be handled withoutany adjustment of j the mechanism as is illustrated in Fig. 4,

from which it will be apparent that with shcrt'piece of stock in thegrippers as there;

illustrated the headstock shown in dotted lines will advance contactingfirstthe gripper member 130 'nearest'the headstock and compressing sameagainst compression spring 137 until it substantlally contacts thenextadj acent gripper member and so 'onuntil the stock the tapered end ofthe short'piece of stock held between the most rem'otegrippers. Longerpieces ofstock up to the maximum capacity of the machine are engaged bythe appropriate number of grippers as is well illustrated in'thisfigure; It will further be. I

noted that the bars 112 with bridge members 124 and rod 129 constitutewhat may be .con-

vcniently termed a cradle support for'the .grippingmembers' adapted torock said members to and away from the moving table formed by theendless chain conveyors. Each of the grlppln-g members 130 lscomposed oftwo complementary members 131 and 132, the latter slidably butnon-rotatably mounted upon shaft 129 and the former freely rotatableupon shaft 129. Each of these members comprises semi-circular grippingpartswith rearwardly extending lugs 138 and 139, which are connected asby a spring 140 tending constantly to close the semi-circular partstogether. The lower gripping member 132 is preferably made 111 twoparts, the outer portion 134 of the semicircular gripping member beingpivoted as at 135 to the inner portion 133 and connected therewith as byspring 1365. Rod 142 is supported between framemembers 101 and underrods 112 in the path of the rea-rwardly projecting lugs 139 of the uppergripping members 131 so thaton the rearward stroke of rods 112, lugs 139will contact rod 142 and throw the upper gripping members 131 upwardlyand backwardly as illustrated in Fig. 8, when the same are under theguide members 109 provided intermediate the sprocket chains 108 todirect the downward gravitation of the stock 37 when released from thechains. By reason of the structure thus described it will be apparentthat on the backward stroke of rods 112 gripper jaws 1.31 are thrown upand back as the latter come under guides 109 while at the same timelever 126 advances chains 108 to permit a piece of stock 37 to slidedown the guides 109 011 to the lower gripper members. 132. As theheadstock 1 reaches the end of thelathe and cam 122 operates upon roller121 the rods 112 are swung forwardly by the intermediate lever mechanismpreviously described'and in their forward movement lugs 139 of thegripping members 131 are released from rod 142.and thrown by springs 140downwardly into contact with the stock 37, carrying the same forwardlyand into proper position over the lathe body to be contacted by theheadstock upon its return stroke. The gripper members are withdrawn fromthe stock by the rods 112 gravitating back into their vertical positiontimed'by the following mechanism:

()n the tailstock end of the feeding device is mounted a bell crank 114similar in all respects to that of the headstock and previouslydescribed in connection with the operative mechanism and connected byits arm 114 with a rod 145, which extends vertically and is connected atits lower end with a bell crank latch member 146, the other arm of whichis adapted to be engaged by a pivoted latch member 147, having a cam lug148 lying in the path ofa downwardly projecting lug 149 carried by chain3. hen the stock has been screwedv into the stock engaging member 35 ofthe headstock spindle sufiiciently to disengage lug 20 from lug 19, aspreviously described, chain 3 continues its motion until the lug 149contacts latch 148 and lifts same from the latch bell crank 146, thuspermitting the pivoted rods 112 to gravitate backwardly, carrying thegripping members into their rear-most position to receive the next pieceof stock and at the same time leave the stock properly engaged betweenthe headstock and the tailstock of the lathe andunencumbered for theturning operation. By reason of the pivot and spring connected structureof the gripping members 132 that gripping member passes freelybackwardly and under the stock in the lathe.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a lathe, the combination of a reciprocating headstock having astock-engaging part, means for reciprocating the headstock, means toconnect the headstock wit-h the headstock reciprocating mechanism, andmeans operated by the stock when in engagement with the stock engagingpart of the headstock to control the connecting means between theheadstock and the headstock reciprocating means. i

2. In a lathe, the combination of a reciproeating headstock having astock-engaging part, means for reciprocating the headstock including apower-driven pull device and a counter-weight, means operated by theheadstock to connect or disconnect the power with the pull device, meansadapted to connect or disconnect the headstock with the counter-weight,and means operated by the positioning of the stock in the stock-engagingpart of the headstock to control the connecting means between theheadstock and the counter-weight.

3. In a power-driven lathe having a reciprocating headstock and meansfor applying power to reciprocate said headstock, a timing mechanism forcontrolling the reciprocation of the headstock including a clutchadapted to connector disconnect power from the head reciprocatormechanism, a rod operating by a longitudinal movement to control theclutch, a sliding cushioned engagement between the headstock and therod, a pivotedstop adapted to be swung into and out of alignment withthe rod, and means operated by the power drive for the lathe to rock thepivoted stop.

4. In a lathe having a reciprocating headstock provided with astock-engaging part, power-operated means to reciprocate the headstockin one direction and a counterweight to reciprocate the headstock in theother direction, means connecting the headstock with the counterweightincluding a. catch, a spring-controlled member adapted tobe actuated bythe positioning of stock in the stock-engaging part, and toggle meansinterposed between said catch and said stockactuated member.

5. Ina lathe having a reciprocating head with a stock-engaging part, alever pivoted i Y plementary semi-circular leg members, one of on thehead having a downturned heel adjacent the stock-engaging part, a c'amface fixed with relation to the lathe adapted to engage the lever torock sameto knock the stockstub from the stock-engaging part.

6. A feeding device for lathes and the like,

I comprising a movable table, a plurality of stock gripping members, acradle support Hmembers, means for opening the grippmg members as theyapproach the table, means for closing the gripping members, as they arewithdrawn from the table, rocking the cradle.

and means for s. A feeding device for late and the like,

comprising a movable table, asto'ck gripping member, a cradle supportfor said grlppmg member, said cradlehaving a pivoted mount i above thetable, means for rocking thecradle away from the table, means forlocking ping member, a cradlesupportfor said grip- 1 Y ping memberwhereby the gripping member 40 means connecting the cradle and the tablewhereby thev rocking of ithe cradle will advance the table, means forlocking the cradle "in its farthest position from the table, meansthecradle at its outermost position from the table, and means forreleasing the cradle to permit its gravitation back toward the table.

9.; A feeding device for lathes and the like,

comprising va movable table, a stock gripmay be rocked to andaway fromthe table,

for periodically releasing the cradle from said lock, and means-for-rocking the erae-"i I 10. In a feeding device for lathesand the vlike'fa stock gripping member comprising supporting rod and two levershavingjcom- 3 said leverseslidably but non-rotatably mount- ,ed on thesupporting rod, the other'lever both slidableand rota-table with respectto 1 the supporting rod.

11. Ina feedlng device for lathes and the like, astock gripping membercomprising a I supporting rod, and two levers having come plementary legparts, one of said levers slidable'butnon-rotatable on'said rod and theother lever both slidable'and rotatable with respect to the rod andspring means tending to draw complementary leg parts of said 1everstogether.

, 13. In a feeding device for lathes and the 1 like, a stockgrippingmember comprising 'a supporting rod, and two levers havingcomplementary leg parts, resilient means adapted to drawsaidcomplementary parts together, means for movably supporting thesupporting rod and means for tripping one of the leverparts to separatethe two complementary leg parts. i

- 14. In a feeding device for lathes and the if like, a stock grippingmember comprising a I supporting rod, a cradle support for said rod.whereby itfcan be rocked in a substantially horizontal plane, twolevers having complementary leg parts, resilientmeans adapted to drawsaid. complementary parts together, and

a trip fixed in the path of one of said levers whereby the complementaryparts will be forced apart when the device passes a fixed point'in itscourse. 7

, 15. In anautomatic lathe having a reciprocating work engaging part, amovable table,

a stock gripping device including resiliently closed-pivoted jawslocated between the edge of the tableand the center of the lathe, meansfor periodically advancing the table and re ciprocating thestockgripping device, a trip adapted to open the pivoted jaws as thegrip-' ping. device approaches the table, a latch adapted to hold thegripping devicein its position central of the lathe, and means forreleasing said latch controlledby the means for imparting motion to thework engaging part of the lathe. I r p i 16. In combination, a lathebed, a carriage movable along the bedforadvancing aestick to besuccessively cutoflhsaid carriage having a driven stick-rotating andadvancing chuck, means for advancing the carriage and for au- 1 ptomatically returnlng it after each-complete advancement thereof, andmeans for automaticallyknocking a remnant of the stick lateach return ofsaid carriage.

erally fromithe stick rotating chuck upon I Intestimony whereof IafliX-my signature. H I

, like,-a;stock gripping member comprising a supporting rod and twolevers having complement'ary semi-circular leg members, one of a,

said levers slidably but non-rotatably mounte ed on the supportingrodand having its semicircular leg jointed by a springcontrolled hinge, theother lever beingboth slidable and:

rotatablewith respect to the supporting rod.

12. In a feedingdevice for lathes andthe' I I I V I ELIAS: THOMAS:ROBERTS. I

